• Most domestic workers have suffered when it comes to the minimum wage.
• Government should give unions an opportunity to negotiate better conditions of service.
• The person who will to take over Ministry of Labour, should be somebody who has a heart for workers.

Domestic Workers Union of Zambia has called on the incoming government to give trade unions an opportunity to negotiate better conditions of service for workers in the domestic sector through collective bargaining.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Union Executive Director Humphrey Monde said there are a lot of vulnerable workers in the informal sector who have suffered when it comes to the minimum wage.
Mr. Monde stressed the need for the Unions that in the domestic sector to negotiate with the Association, and be able to come up with good conditions of service because the minimum wage is not enough.
“We have more vulnerable workers mostly in the informal sector which include domestic workers and also the farming industry, farm workers and many other sectors that are in the informal sector such as manufacturing, construction. Most of these workers have suffered quite a lot when it comes to the minimum wage.”
“We would like to plead with government that through us and the unions, if we could be given a great opportunity to negotiate better conditions of service for workers in the domestic sector through collective bargaining,” Mr. Monde said.
He further stated that the Union would like to see an improvement in the domestic sector, with regards to conditions of service.
Meanwhile, Mr. Monde urged President Elect, Hakainde Hichilema to ensure that the incoming Labour Minister is someone who will prioritize the interests of workers in the country.
“It is quite important that they look at issues that are going on in the Domestic sector. But also on the employers’ side, we must have a win-win situation, we don’t want to have a situation where the law is only favorable to the workers, and not favorable to the employers. So it should be a win-win situation where both employers and the workers are able to meet somewhere and have a 50/50 situation in terms of better conditions of service and also the different work agenda which is very cardinal,” he added.